Tourism Guides Support Scheme (TGSS)

One-time financial assistance of Rs. 10,000 to 328 licensed tourist guides - approved by Kerala Tourism and India Tourism - working in the State's tourism sector, subject to conditions.

Eligibility

Following category of Tourist Guides are eligible:

1. Regional Level Tourist Guides approved by the Ministry of Tourism Government of India whose residential address is in Kerala
2. State Level Tourist Guides approved by the Department of Tourism Government of Kerala
3. Local Level Tourist Guides approved by the Department of Tourism Government of Kerala
4. A person can apply only once even if they are holding more than one State license
5. A person should not be having an alternate employment in state government or private firms

Financial Assistance

The Department of Tourism will be providing a onetime non-refundable financial assistance to the above categories of guides @ Rs.10,000/- per head.

Documents Required

1. Copy of valid Guide License issued by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India/Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala
2. A copy of the Aadhaar. In the absence of Aadhaar, copy of Driving License or Passport
3. Certificate from a Tour Operator accredited with the Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala or Ministry of Tourism, Government of India OR the Deputy Director, Department of the Tourism of the District concerned OR the DTPC Secretary of the district concerned to the effect that the particular tourist guide has actively been working in the industry until 29.02.2020.

Procedure of implementation

The Tourist Guides, as detailed in clause 2 above, shall file a formal application along with the required documents online to the Director, Department of Tourism. The applicant should submit the formal application in the online platform hosted in www.keralatourism.org along with the required documents

The applicant will get a notification by email/SMS once the application is approved by the Director, Department of Tourism

Deficiencies, if any, would be communicated to the applicant within a period of seven days by the Director and the applicant should be given sufficient time to rectify the deficiencies

Sanctioning of Financial Assistance under this scheme will be the sole discretion of the Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram

Appeals

Appeals, if any, shall be filed before the Director, Department of Tourism, Thiruvananthapuram within a period of 15 days from the date of declining of the application. The appeal shall be disposed of as early as possible within one month of receipt of the appeal after giving the appellant an opportunity of being heard, if necessary.

Recovery & Penalty

1. Any assistance under this scheme shall be liable to be refunded by the beneficiary concerned with interest @ 14% p.a from the date of receipt of the same, on account of obtaining the assistance by any misrepresentation, forgery or deception.
2. Legal action will also be initiated against the applicant/beneficiary in the event of proving that the Financial Assistance is received on account of any misrepresentation, forgery or deception.

To learn more about the terms and conditions, click here